Winter a chilling reality for refugees

For many Utica refugees born in countries not far from the Equator, the Mohawk Valley winter is proving to be the greatest adjustment yet.

Chinki Sinha

Between the two of them, Burmese refugees Khin Mar Win and Nying Aye have only one warm jacket.

The mother and adult daughter picked it up at a thrift store after the family of eight arrived here in September.

So Mar Win usually stays home so that daughter Aye, 20, can run errands for the family and attend English as a Second Language classes at the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees.

“It is a problem,” Aye said of December’s snow, cold and wind. “Not enough clothes.”

For many Utica refugees born in countries not far from the Equator, the Mohawk Valley winter is proving to be the greatest adjustment yet.

Refugees from Myanmar, formerly Burma, are arriving in the greatest numbers this year. Hundreds of them spent years in Thai refugee camps, where the year-round average temperature is about 75 degrees.

Only the warmest of Mohawk Valley summer months reach that level.

Most new arrivals from Asia or Africa have never seen snow before. So when it first fell last month, Mar Win’s family sat by the window and watched.

Then the children went outside to play. It was magical, they said.

But the magic is over now. With no car, the members have to walk in the snow to get to their classes or to buy supplies.

And for many days this winter, the family had to make do with just rice or bread because it was simply too cold to walk for an hour to the Vietnamese store where they buy their groceries.

“It was a surprise,” said Khin Maung Soe, his daughter Aye translating for him. “But it is difficult now. We are stuck at home.”

Helping hands

Various area agencies distribute warm clothing to new arrivals.

Among them is the Tabernacle Baptist Church, which has about 500 Karen ethnic group refugees from Myanmar in its congregation. This year, the church helped 60 families by donating winter clothing, the Rev. Mark Caruana said.

Throughout the years that he has worked with the refugees, Caruana has seen them struggling to get used to the harsh winters.

Often, the pastor has to tell the refugees not to let their children play outside in the snow without warm clothing, he said.

“It is typical how we make a transition from one climate to another,” Caruana said.
He added, “If I were in Burma, I may not realize to put sunscreen on my face.”

As Aye’s brothers and sisters helped their father shovel the snow Friday outside their house on Dudley Avenue, none had gloves on.

No bike, no play

Come what may, Maung Soe never misses the Friday prayers at the mosque on Kemble Street. The walk takes him about 45 minutes, he said.

But Soe understands he has to get used to the snow.

“This country has this weather,” he said. “So I can’t ask Allah to change it.”

For 9-year-old Khin Maung Tway, winter is the most difficult season because he can’t ride his bicycle.

“I don’t like it,” he said.

Not only that, he has already slipped once and hurt his leg.

“I fell down on the steps,” he said, Aye translating for him.

Heater ineffective

Esar My’s and Sar Ki Nar’s family huddled Friday in the living room of their apartment at Millgate Street.

“It is very cold. This is heavy cold,” My said, with Aye translating for him. He added, “The heater is not really good.”

As a gust of cold wind gushed in from underneath the door, the family moved to another corner in the room.

“Burma is a hot country,” My said. In Utica, “I got sick for seven days. Winter is difficult for Burmese.”

Observer-Dispatch

Weather report

Here’s a look at weather in some of the countries where Mohawk Valley’s refugees come from:

- Somalia: Somalia has a hot, dry climate with temperatures peaking at 105 degrees in the northern part of the country. In the south of the country, the temperatures range between 68 degrees and 92 degrees.

- Myanmar (Burma): The mean annual temperature is about 81 degrees. The country has three seasons – hot season, monsoon and cool season. On Friday, it was 84 degrees in the capital city of Yangon.

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